Hospital Alarm FatigueFinding comprehensive support for an alarming problem

Non-actionable alarms strain hospital resources, contribute to hospital alarm fatigue, and can affect the quality of your patient care. Desensitization may even become a matter of life and death.

Hospital Alarm fatigue has been identified as the top technology hazard for healthcare organizations¹ and is the subject of the Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals on Alarm System Management.

With our comprehensive hospital alarm fatigue management solutions and consulting services, your caregivers can get the right information at the right time for targeted care.

The problem of alarm management has become so widespread that as of December 2013, The Joint Commission introduced it as a National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG). The Joint Commission now requires its accredited hospitals to improve their alarm systems, aiming to alleviate the constant barrage of bells and whistles that are often the hallmark of a hospital stay for patients and that contribute to hospital alarm fatigue for healthcare workers. With alarms poised in first place on ECRI’s “Top 10 Health Technology Hazards” list for the fourth consecutive year, the issue of alarm management is one that is critical to patient safety for healthcare organizations.

The right systems, together with the right policies, augment your workflow to support clinical decision-making. Our alarm system management solutions contain features designed to facilitate care, improve workflow and reduce hospital alarm fatigue.

Our hospital alarm management solution is an end-to-end solution designed to help you manage alarms and reduce fatigue, while providing the information you need, when you need it, to categorize, distribute and respond—virtually wherever you are.

“If it doesn’t mean anything, then why is it going off?” This concern is all too common. Patients want to know that care providers are focused on what is important and relevant to their care and recovery. Our hospital alarm systems management solutions help you gain back patient trust by helping you manage and reduce non-actionable alarms.

The problem of alarm management has become so widespread that as of December 2013, The Joint Commission introduced it as a National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG). The Joint Commission now requires its accredited hospitals to improve their alarm systems, aiming to alleviate the constant barrage of bells and whistles that are often the hallmark of a hospital stay for patients and that contribute to hospital alarm fatigue for healthcare workers. With alarms poised in first place on ECRI’s “Top 10 Health Technology Hazards” list for the fourth consecutive year, the issue of alarm management is one that is critical to patient safety for healthcare organizations.

4 steps to successful alarm system management

We collaborated with a leading healthcare and life sciences consulting company to conduct an extensive evaluation and develop an action plan for successful alarm management intervention. This plan will help you develop a systematic, coordinated approach to clinical alarm system management at your hospital.

Addressing hospital alarm fatigue across your organization

More clinical information. Less audible interruption.

Too many auditory alarm signals in the clinical environment can lead to staff interruption, patient and staff dissatisfaction, and may present potential patient safety issues. Our alarm system management solutions offer potential for improved patient care and workflow, a less hectic environment, and higher staff and patient satisfaction.

A systematic approach: Built-in tools, such as automatic alarm limits and patient centered profiles, can be customized as part of a systematic approach to alarm system management.

Customizable: Advanced event surveillance tools can be adapted to fit your patient population, reduce auditory interruptions, and support the early indication of clinical change.

Complex, multitasking workflow for clinicians on the move

The right systems, together with the right policies, augment your workflow to support clinical decision-making. Our alarm system management solutions contain features designed to facilitate care, improve workflow and reduce hospital alarm fatigue.

Examples are:

Configurable: Alarm systems can be tailored to your unique environment.

Escalate: When clinicians are unable to respond, the alarm condition can be escalated by severity and/or distributed more widely.

Support: Many alarms are reduced because data is presented in clinically meaningful ways, helping to identify subtle changes of deterioration sooner and without alarm signals.

Standards-based information and distribution

Our alarm systems support IT solutions that facilitate adherence to guidelines, enhance caregivers’ ability to respond quickly and appropriately, troubleshoot problems when they occur, and support quality improvement programs. We can help you design and implement IT solutions that work.

Clinical performance: IT solutions can prioritize alerts and increase distribution to others as needed and provide escalation pathways for unacknowledged alarms.

Interoperability: Alarm system solutions are standards-based to support smooth interoperability with Philips, third-party devices, and hospital EHRs.

Consolidate workflow: External devices and other alarm systems (such as IV pumps, nursing alarm signals, etc.) are easily aggregated into a platform that simplifies and consolidates your IT workflow.

Improvement design: Based on our assessment and data analytics, we review your options, and develop an alarm system management strategy and roadmap that focuses on reducing non-actionable alarms.

Implementation and change management: We partner with you to prioritize, communicate, and implement selected changes.

Monitor results: Once complete we will re-evaluate alarm data and noise levels to assess the impact of implemented changes, create on-going support materials, and measure alarm with dashboard metrics.

Alarm management from signal to action

Our hospital alarm management solution is an end-to-end solution designed to help you manage alarms and reduce fatigue, while providing the information you need, when you need it, to categorize, distribute and respond—virtually wherever you are.

Alarm management Advocacy

We work closely with key trade associations and academics to make available the latest information on alarm system management. Shared partner insights include research, management strategies, and related topics.

Putting the patient first

Addressing patient safety

A missed, silenced, or unanswered alarm can have deadly consequences for your patients. This situation is characteristic of a multi-faceted problem that must include a look at the people, processes, technology, and culture of your institution. We can assist with a review, solution, and implementation plan.

Gaining patient trust

“If it doesn’t mean anything, then why is it going off?” This concern is all too common. Patients want to know that care providers are focused on what is important and relevant to their care and recovery. Our hospital alarm systems management solutions help you gain back patient trust by helping you manage and reduce non-actionable alarms.

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